


Break Me Gently; Hold Me Down

by DepressionRae



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Corvo employs him just to keep him from fucking shit up, Corvo helps him break out of them, Corvo trying to figure out his emotions, Daud breaks all the promises and comes back because he physically can't stay away, Emily wants to call them both dad, Found Family, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Literal Sleeping Together, Low Chaos Corvo Attano, M/M, Might edit the tags later, Minor Corvo Attano/Daud, Minor Daud/The Outsider (Dishonored), Misunderstandings, Romance, Slackjaw visits just to mock Corvo and teach Emily poker (it's not appreciated), Slow Burn, The Outsider comes to terms with his past and develops unhealthy coping methods, kind of, more or less, the feelings are there the relationship takes its time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27331765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressionRae/pseuds/DepressionRae
Summary: Emily is finally safe and she and Corvo have finally returned to Dunwall Tower. The road into the future is unclear, but Corvo is ready for anything - except for one thing; he's not ready to let The Outsider walk away from him, not yet.Not when he still dreams about dark eyes and dead whales.
Relationships: Corvo Attano/The Outsider (Dishonored)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Mostly just messing around, I like the idea of a lonely Outsider being pleasantly surprised when Corvo sticks around. He's still a bastard though. Not my first time writing for this fandom but the first time I take a stab at this iconic duo. 
> 
> Let me know how I did with them, if you have time, thank you!

The type of silence in the Void is completely unique to that world. At first, it was almost suffocating. A constant pressure that could be mistaken for a deafening roar; but the Void had no sound to it, only a consistent, crushing silence that often left one with a massive headache when the awoke from it's grasp. Only when The Outsider speaks does Corvo hear anything beyond his own heartbeat, frail and lonesome against the perverse quiet of dreadful realm. After spending time there, the silence became something akin to a shroud. A heavy blanket of fog that muted everything else and suspended it in dull shades of grey. The Void's taste of silence became a comfort, a moment dropped into limbo that gave a brief respite from the grind of life in Dunwall.

After a time, he sought out the shrines, even when he had no need. Even after there were no more missions to complete, he still sought out those shrines built by the desperate and the foul. He had climbed abandoned buildings and chased glimpses of lights in dark basements, ever watchful for guards and weepers and the biting, clawing swarms of rats. He placed his hands against the wood and stone over and over, gaze fixed on purple tapestry and the lumpy candles, letting the thrum of the runes pulse through his flesh. Every time he did this, he could taste charcoal and copper in the back of his throat. He wondered, idly, as he watched a familiar figure fade into view, if that was what The Outsider tasted like. The vessel and puppet of the Void was a little bit like the silence in his home. He had taken just as long to get used to.

At first, he was a constant weight, a burning, questioning gaze against his back, an unwelcome, vile being who's pointed, vague words always seemed to end in a taunting question Corvo didn't have the answer to. In the same span of time that it took the silence to become a sign of safety, The Outsider's presence had become a bit of a comfort. A welcome figure at the corner of his vision, a smooth voice shaping words into weary weapons. Over time, Corvo had found himself leaning into those cold, long hands instead of away. He chased every lingering touch like a starved hound.

"My _dear_ Corvo," The Outsider didn't smile at him, his arms crossed over his chest and long fingers loosely curled into fists. His voice, usually so sharp and snappy, lacked any real bite. "What a surprise to find you here."

If he didn't know better, he might have called the man who floated above the ground _tired._ He certainly looked as if fatigue had caught onto his very bones. His face was sullen, mouth turned down in a small, uncomfortable frown; it was an expression Corvo hadn't seen on him before. Even his words sounded weighed down, as if he had been pulled away from something far more important than a single old royal protector, even one who had taken his mark.

"You have Emily back, you've returned to Dunwall Tower and she is to be placed on the throne as the new empress in a matter of days." The Outsider touched down, shiny black shoes squeaking against the rotting wood of the long abandoned building. He turned to regard the half-forgotten shrine in the corner of the room. "You don't need my input on that."

Corvo shrugged, picking his way across the crumbling room to collapse into one of the few remaining chairs. It creaked dangerously beneath his weight, but he ignored it in favor of staring holes into his patron's back.

"You've never needed me, though, did you?" He didn't turn around, but the royal protector noted the nearly undetectable shift and subtle slump of his shoulders.

"...there have been some...close calls." Corvo had to admit, Blink often came in handy when he needed to get somewhere. Or when he needed to ambush a guard. Or get away from the rats. Or just when he needed to get away from all of his responsibilities and the ever questioning politicians of Dunwall tower.

"But before that, you didn't really need it. I know. I watched you, before we met." He turned away from the shrine, but made no move to come closer. At least he was smiling now, though it was a bitter, grim smile that spoke volumes about what he had seen and heard before they had ever met. Not for the first time, Corvo wondered what it took to be a part of the Void like that.

"But I wanted you." Maybe not the best choice of words.

"I'm flattered." The deadpan tone made Corvo wince, and he slid down in his seat - but he didn't look away as The Outsider drew closer, dark eyes smoldering with an emotion he couldn't name. He couldn't even grasp at it. "Is that what called you to my shrine? Does a part of you still _want_ me, my dear Corvo? Does a part of you revel in the chaos you sowed when you used my mark, when you let the Void travel through your veins?"

He scoffed, shaking his head. He stopped just a mere foot away from where Corvo sat, within reach if he stood up. It was all too tempting to reach out, to graze his fingers over that cold face, to seek out any warmth left in that slim, lithe body.

"I don't know." Corvo was speaking without thinking, and the wide eyed surprise on the The Outsider's face made that obvious; it also made him look young enough to feel uncomfortable, and he hastily tried to elaborate on his answer. "I needed air, and I just...came up here. It was like I was following a call I couldn't hear, but my feet followed it all the same."

He hesitated, watching the divine creature standing in front of him.

"And I do want you. But...not for the Void."

"Hmm, don't blame your coming here on me. I was elsewhere - wait. What do you mean you're not here for the Void? What else is there, dear Corvo? The rats?"

Oh he was dense.

"You. The Void isn't the one who insisted on conversation, wasn't the one who gave me hints and actively encouraged me. I think I came here...just to see you." Corvo shrugged, and when he rose up and out of the chair to stand over The Outsider, he felt confident enough to place both hands on the shorter man's narrow shoulders.

"Just...to see _me_?" The words were spoken in a hushed tone, as if he was afraid speaking any louder would break whatever had settled between them in the last few minutes of suspended time. "Corvo. You don't even know me."

"I know you like music, I know you think Sokolov is both an idiot and a genius, but to you he's boring," The shrug and nod in agreement was almost enough to derail him and make him laugh, "And you also adore whales and the ocean. Sometimes I feel as if you're singing with them, dying with them, every day that I was on the docks and saw the carcass of a whale I felt like you were peering over my shoulder, seething with an anger I can't even begin to understand -"

"The runes I give you are carved from whale bones, ripped from their dying flesh and bewitched with my mark."

"So of course you'd feel for them. And you worried about me and Emily. Rather openly, too."

"I didn't - I don't - why do you suddenly care for what I am or what I think, Corvo?" The Outsider stepped back, away from him, hands twitching - but held stiffly at his sides - and those dark eyes regarded him with a wary, hunted look. For some reason, it reminded him of Daud, right before he'd vanished. Of the Overseers he almost killed but spared at the last minute. Of Emily's face before he took off his mask. It made him breathe in sharply and rub the aching spot between his eyes. The movement made The Outsider tense up, although those black eyes softened at the same time and for a moment, the being almost appeared to look guilty or worried.

"I've always cared. I just didn't...think about it until tonight." That much was true. Corvo had no peers at the pub, no one to talk to about the things he saw on his missions or the vivid dreams he had of floating whales and dreary eyes and swarms of rats. He had only had himself. Until he slept there the first time. When he had first woken up in the Void, where the ruins of the past had crashed headlong into the fires of the present. When The Outsider had first extended his hands and offered the mark. Back then, Corvo hadn't had the time to think about it. Sometimes he had gazed at his hand and let his mind wander, let himself ponder on his situation and those that had caused it. But before tonight, he had given little thought to the being who resided in the Void. Beyond their chats between his missions, the time spent in limbo in crumbling apartments and damp basements, he hadn't taken time to unravel the ball of emotions and feelings until tonight.

So yeah, ok. He had cared all this time, he had always had the urge to reach out to that cold, unmoving face, always wanted to feet cool, pale skin against his.

"You always..." The Outsider was staring, brows drawn down in a confused, contemplative V. In the back of his mind, he found it endearing. "And here I thought you couldn't surprise me any more than you already have. Interesting, as always, Corvo. We'll be in touch."

With that, The Outsider vanished, shoving Corvo back into real time even as he shouted a curse at the abrupt departure. He couldn't stay much longer in the apartment, and glared at the spot where his tormenter had stood. Slimy bastard. He admits to caring about him and then he flees like an Overseer from a group of Whalers.

"Bastard." He spits the word out in the direction of the shrine, even as he pockets the humming, vibrating bone charm he had found there. Somewhere, somehow, he knows this makes The Outsider laugh.


	2. Kill Me Softly; Love Me Slowly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and The Outsider become unlikely friends. Corvo and The Outsider have a chat, and they both get answers they're not ready for.
> 
> And Daud is up to something, but no one is paying attention - or are they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeyyy another chapter? You bet your ass I already have another chapter. Mostly due to the fact that I just finished anonther play through of the first game while waiting for the first chapter to actually post. (that's not a brag, I was already halfway through the game and it doesn't take long if you know what you're doing)
> 
> :)

It had been several days since the interaction in the crumbling apartment. Emily Kaldwin was officially the new Empress, though for now it was more of a formality to ease the minds of the people. The trauma she had gone through made her seem mature and quiet enough to fool those around them, even her new advisor - Corvo hadn't caught her name yet - but he and a few of the servants knew of her nightmares and the way she would hide in her royal protector's room. The Outsider hadn't made any contact with him, even when he visited that same shrine. He'd shoved the event out of his mind after a few days. Emily needed him, anyway. The creature that crowded his dreams and whispered in his thoughts could wait.

At least, that had been the plan. Emily had hidden in his room again, crying from another of her nightmares, and he hadn't been the one to comfort him. He was the only one with a key, besides his daughter, and no one else was allowed inside. With that in mind, it had been jarring to his tired, sluggish mind to hear Emily's voice and a man answer her.

Really, he should have recognized the voice. Instead, Corvo had rushed in with his pistol drawn, ready to take aim and fire - but the man looming over Emily had on an all too familiar grey suitcoat and was floating at least an inch off the ground.

"Outsider!?" Emily and The Outsider both looked up, and Corvo realized the man was holding what looked like a doll, bent and warped by the Void's powers. Both the girl and the dark eyed creature stared in honest surprise.

"Corvo! I, um, I had another nightmare, but your friend was here and calmed me down..." Emily stood up slowly, glancing at The Outsider, her surprise melting into a warm smile. As the two men stared, she tugged the doll from The Outsider's hands, startling a pleasant, but cool smile from him. The doll in hand, she flounced out of the room and into the adjoining office of the royal protector. And then they were alone. Together. A mere five feet apart, with nothing but empty air between them.

The last time they were alone together swept through Corvo's mind and he nearly bit his own tongue to keep from bringing it up. The last time he had tried to talk about the mess of emotions inside him, The Outsider had run away like he'd been some diseased weeper putting greasy hands in all the wrong places. He didn't want him to run away this time.

"I really was just comforting her, Corvo." The whispered words were so quiet he almost didn't hear them, so wrapped up in his own thoughts as he was. The Outsider had planted himself onto solid ground, dark eyes peering at Corvo; guarded and cold, but worry lurked there too. He suddenly realized his silence was being taken as him being upset.

"It's, ah, fine. What was with the doll?" Corvo turned away, deciding to give them more space to work with, and strode over to the wardrobe. He might as well get ready to sleep.

"Dear Emily told me she doesn't want to touch any of the ones she had...before. And that she's scared to be left alone again. The doll I gave her is something that she can use to connect with the Void, to call on me for anything."

"She doesn't _need_ to connect to the-"

"It's for when she has _nightmares_ or she's _attacked_ and you aren't there." He didn't turn around, but he could feel the glare on his back. Right, ok, it was good for Emily to have others she could trust to protect her, but really, this guy of all the others in the place?

"She can keep it then. But if you cause trouble for her I'm gonna burn the damn thing and every shrine I see." Corvo turned away from the wardrobe, clutching soft nightclothes in his hands. The mark glowed faintly in the dim light now that the wrapping no longer covered it, intricate lines weaving in complex patterns. He used to think it was pretty, in a disgusting sort of way.

The Outsider hadn't moved from where he'd been left. In fact, if it was possible, he seemed to have tried moving further away. But he was still standing there. Corvo considered it a good sign, that maybe he could salvage this weird...thing he'd tried to start in the apartment.

"Hey." Corvo winced when The Outsider immediately flinched and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm, uh, I don't mean...I'm sorry. For the other night. At the shrine."

"...don't dwell on it." He sighed, dark gaze weary. "I suppose I should apologize for having left so quickly. I had other matters to attend to..."

"It _was_ a little rude, I won't lie to you." Corvo smiled at him, hoping to ease those obviously frayed nerves. Had what he'd said last time been that horrid? "Were you really busy that night?"

"I was speaking with Daud at the time. It was nothing important, more idle small talk than anything else, but I felt it prudent to return to him. I've noticed a heavy change in his behavior since you spared his life. And..." The Outsider hesitated, lifting a hand to rub at a spot on his neck. "I must admit, your...confession had startled me. I needed time to assess what had happened and consider my own emotions and intentions."

"Daud? So he's still alive. He acted odd when I last saw him, too. Is he still in Dunwall?" The assassin - the man that killed Jessamine - had sworn to leave and never come back, but he'd had little time to make sure that had actually happened. He hadn't even been back to the flooded district yet to flush out the remaining Whalers. He deliberately didn't ask the more obvious question; it hung between them like the body of a guilty man.

"As far as I could tell at the time, he was on a ship. He didn't mention where he was heading, or if he was even leaving Dunwall. I didn't care enough to ask. I'm not sure I wanted to know, really, what with the state he was in."

"He better have left Dunwall. He made me a promise."

"Hmm. There's an old saying I've heard before." The Outsider tilted his head, smiling at Corvo. They were back to having almost only five or seven feet of space between them, but this time a bed and an armchair stood between them. The thin man leaned against the back of the armchair. "You shouldn't make promises that can't be kept."

"I've made too many of those already." Corvo snorted. Tossing caution to the wind, he went about pulling his coat off, then his vest and shirt. When he looked up, his uninvited guest was staring at anything but him. This could get weird and fast, they needed a better distraction than the fate of a man neither of them liked very much. As Corvo attempted to find that distraction, even as he struggled with his pants, The Outsider turned his back on him and continued leaning against the armchair. Oddly enough, he didn't need to find one.

"You haven't asked me why I came here in the first place." The Outsider still had his back turned.

"I figured you needed a moment." Goddamned belt buckles and complicated boot straps this was hell. "You wanna tell me now?"

"...yes, of course I do. I wanted to say it the moment you walked into the room, but young Emily was here and I didn't want her to think ill of me."

Corvo frowned and, having done the last button of his night clothes, sank into his bed. Emily had already made herself a makeshift bed in the office, and would come get him if she had a nightmare. For now, the bed was empty. Laying in it also gave him an idea.

"Come over here." The Outsider turned and balked, quite obviously bewildered and surprised by Corvo's 'come hither' hand gesture. After a long moment of silence, in which he seriously reconsidered that time he thought himself smart or the time just now when he thought this was a good idea, The Outsider let out the breath he'd been holding in and gingerly sat on the bed next to Corvo.

"Much better. What were you going to say?"

"How long have you...cared for me? What did I do that made you want to know me or care about me?" Dark eyes did not look at him, but instead stared down at the clean sheets beneath him.

"I don't really know if I can point out the exact time. Well, maybe..." Could he get away with mentioning that he remembered this moment? "When I came back from the Boyle estate, the party?"

"I recall that event. You gave her over to her secret admirer who took her off to some unknown location. Very risky of you, in my opinion. Don't look at me like that, she's fine, just not rich anymore."

"Yeah well, I was buzzed. I almost fell off the boat. I hated myself for just handing a woman over for whatever was waiting for her with that man, so I drank too much before I left." Corvo shifted, bringing his legs up onto the bed. The Outsider stiffened, glancing at him, but motioned with his hand for Corvo to continue speaking. "As soon as I hit my bed, you were waiting for me. You held my head in your lap and played with my hair and hummed some kind of song. It was the safest I'd felt since Jessamine died."

"Oh." The soft sound had Corvo reaching for the other man, only to abort and drop his hands to the bedsheets when The Outsider recoiled. The mumbled apology was still dropping from his lips when The Outsider made an apology of his own. He'd leaned in close, pulling his knees close to his chest as he did so - when had he taken his shoes off? - and smiled almost shyly. "Don't be sorry. I'm not used to being touched, and I am...surprised that you remember that. I think buzzed is an understatement. You were rather out of it, my dear."

At this point, they were practically laying down next to each other. Corvo rolled so he was on his side facing The Outsider, close enough to feel a cool puff of air when he exhaled every breath. The royal protector hesitated before he gently put a hand over one of the dark eyed man's. He didn't pull away this time. For a moment, they simply laid there, slowing their breathing until they seemed to match an exhale for every inhale. Only then did The Outsider speak again, voice so soft that Corvo had to strain to hear the delicate accent that painted every word a curious shade of nervous.

"I care about you too, Corvo. I'm not sure what half my reaction to you mean, or if there even is a deeper meaning. All I know is that something in me broke when they sent you to die in the flooded district, and I cheered only for you in your fight against Daud. I don't know what that means for me." Dark eyes closed, and he sighed. "I hope you're alright with that. I was already in pieces when you came in, I can't tell if you're breaking me further or collecting the bits. I need more time."

"Then take all the time you need." Corvo whispered, every word carrying a shiver of revelation, of worship that had no name. He curled his fingers around The Outsider's hand, and brought cool knuckles to his lips. His skin tasted like charcoal and copper. "I'll wait for you. Will you stay the night?"

"Always."

* * *

When Corvo woke in the morning, there was a warm, thin body wrapped in his arms. He almost thought it Emily, and then realized the hair was too short and too dark to be her.

The Outsider. The vessel and puppet of the Void. The unmaker. The heathen that haunted the Overseers and gave his mark to murderers and heroes alike. Was asleep in his arms, his pale face pushed against his chest and arms loosely looped around Corvo's waist. He was still in his suit. Corvo didn't dare move, lightly running his fingers up and down the part of his back he could reach. His mind helpfully supplied the sleepy, hazy memory of last night. And he nearly cursed himself out for it.

_"I'll wait for you. Will you stay the night?"_

_"Always."_


End file.
